Last week went as the season has gone for the NRHEG baseball team.
The Panthers won one of three, moving their record to 3-8 in the Gopher Conference and 6-10 overall.
NRHEG 13, Blooming Prairie 6
The Panthers jumped on top early at Blooming Prairie Monday, May 16, taking an 11-0 lead after two innings and coming within an out of 10-running the Blossoms in the fifth.
Dempsey Tucker had four RBIs and scored twice for the Panthers, who got two RBIs apiece from Cole Staloch and Trai Wicks. Sawyer VanMaldeghem also hit safely.
Tucker started the pitched two hitless innings. Staloch went the rest of the way on the mound.
“It was a great game for us,” said coach Drew Paukert. “We came out ready to play and got up on them early. This allowed us to take Dempsey out and get Cole some innings in relief. Cole is someone who hasn’t thrown much for us this year, but will be counted on next year as a junior. Overall, I felt we did a much better job tonight of hitting with runners in scoring position, which is something we hadn’t done as well at times last week. We also limited the amount of strikeouts and were able to put the ball in play and make them make plays. It was a good team win, with everyone getting in and helping us win.”
Bethlehem Academy 11, NRHEG 1
The Panthers traveled to Faribault Tuesday and struggled defensively, committing four official errors while falling in six innings.
VanMaldeghem, Staloch, Tucker, John Hubly and Sam Prigge had one hit apiece, with Tucker driving in the lone run in the first inning.
Eli Lutgens pitched all six innings and took the loss.
“Overall, I wasn’t pleased with our effort,” said Paukert. “We made a number of mental mistakes that I haven’t seen the last two weeks. Defensively, we didn’t make a lot of plays behind our pitcher. Give BA credit; when we left the ball up over the plate, they hit the ball hard. We know those mental miscues are things that we need to be correct and limit as we prepare for the playoffs.”
JWP 4, NRHEG 2
The Panthers dropped a nonconference game at Janesville Friday.
Tucker pitched a complete game and absorbed the loss.
Staloch, Hubly, Wicks and Lutgens each had one hit.
“Overall, I thought we played a much better game defensively,” said Paukert. “We didn’t boot the ball around like we did on Tuesday. Offensively, we continued to struggle scoring. We had the bases loaded in the second inning and a man on second base in the first inning and weren’t able to get a big hit.”